With November a complete right off, lets just hope December brings some festive rewards (all I want for Christmas is a seven pound chub).

At long last my Ringwood tickets turns up. This weeks been completing request after request for ‘this and that’ in the world off angling, well now it stops, as with all features completed, I’m now going to have a few weeks doing exactly what I want to do, so sorry, my selfishness has caught up with me!

Anyway what’s happened this week regarding angling? Not a lot as the weathers been so cold, the only fish that may respond is chub, so after sorting out my paperwork, I went in search of ‘old rubber lips’.

Tuesday, it’s minus one when I arrived at Burghfield, chub in mind on the Kennet. Ninety acres of Stillwater is frozen to my left as I walk purposely towards running water. I’m hoping the rivers cold and clear but its not, its cold tea, great. Arriving before dusk, the second swim produces the only bite of the day. That bite was from a fish that I would have loved to have met, but in a ‘hit and hold’ swim the hook pulled a few seconds into the fight. I’m sure the chub was a personal best, taking a liking for bread crust on such a cold day, but that’s angling, some get away.

Undeterred I returned on Thursday, after overnight temperatures of minus five! Cat ice lay in the margins, but I'm full of confidence as the volume of water has dropped and the colour has started to take on that tinge of green. Confident at last the second swim produces a bite to the breadflake, more worthy of a barbel and a 3lbs 10z chub falls to my traditional tactics. The next few hours are spent roving swims and I’m rewarded with two more chub of similar size on a day that most anglers would have stayed at home. I cover new ground during the afternoon and although I receive the odd indication my efforts go un-rewarded.

When the conditions are this cold, don’t think that you’re wasting your time. Bread flake is the ultimate cold day bait if you fish effectively and cover lots of ground and you will, eventually be rewarded, even on the coldest day.

As I write this up, all my angling next week will reflect on the rainfall forecasted for Saturday. Too much and it will be another crippling week, not too much and I will be searching out big chub and dace with a vengeance, but deep down I know it maybe another week scratching around!